Right and Wrong Ways to Make a Yo-Yo

Back in 2010 when I bought my Clover Yo-Yo Maker, I made quite a few yo-yos and used some of them on my Pagoda Quilt.  Four years later, I was making more for my Yo-Yo Wreath.  On this second time around, I was more creative and found some wrong ways to do it.  I thought I better write them down so I don't do them again. 

Be sure your fabric is wrong side up before you snap it between the two pieces of plastic.  Your "sandwich" should look just like this.

After snapping the fabric in place and trimming it, you're ready to sew.  But don't do it this way!  You have to catch that raw edge and pull it down with your stitches - see next photograph.

This is the right way to do it.  Also, after you sew all the way around, take one more stitch past where your knot is.  That will make for nice, even gathering.

Here's another wrong thing to do.  Don't stitch over the plastic.  How do you think you're going to pop off the back piece of plastic if you've sewed them shut?

 

Here's the right way.  After learning this lesson, I made another yo-yo where I did most of the stitching this way, then somehow switched over to sewing over the plastic again.  Don't feel bad if you do this, too.  I must have been tired that night.

Eventually it all comes out just fine, and should look like this.  Note the double stitches at 3 o'clock.

Just start pulling on the stitches and it magically curls up like a little Woolly Bear in the palm of your hand.

So cute, and ready to tie the knot.  You'll want to use thread that matches really well, because it's hard not to have a little bit of thread show.

I hope I don't discover any other wrong ways in the future, but if I do, you'll be the first to know.

Monday is Fun Day - Vintage Christmas Postcards

The other weekend when I bought some holiday plastic at an antique mall, I also bought a handful of Christmas postcards.

It was hard to weed it down to just these few.  For the most part I was going for a nature theme, and colors that complimented each other.

 This one's from 1908.  Nothing written on the back.

 

Printed in Germany, back when it cost one cent to mail domestic; two cents if foreign.  This card is embossed, and has a watercolor effect that created the blurriness.

Another cozy scene, this one from 1913.  

Also from 1913.  I didn't read any of the cards at the mall, and when I read this one at home, it was not what I expected.

It says:

Dear Friend -
The Household Journal wishes you a Merry, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Now won't you make the editor happy with your renewal for 1914?
Please attend to it now.
Cordially yours
W.A. Martin
Editor Household Journal

And to round out the bunch, my favorite illustration.  This one's from 1931, and the only one that went through the mail.  

Yo-Yo Wreath: A Scrappy Project

Two months ago I became scrap happy, after finally setting on a scrap-fabric-storage solution that pleased me.  Now it's time to start making something out of those little snippets of nothing.  Maybe some of my "scrappy projects" might be something you'd like to try.

How about a yo-yo wreath?

I added some bells for sound and sparkle.

I used a variety of colors, prints, and textures.  The aqua yo-yo at the top is flannel.  The dark teal at the lower left makes a subtle statement with its subdued color, yet the jeweled button prevents it from disappearing altogether.

I used up my most interesting buttons on this project.  The blue one on the right looks like flower stamens.

And the button on the left is an entire flower bud.  Sometimes I used beads, like on the right.  A dab of Aleene's Tacky Glue holds them in place. 

Yo-yos go right out to the edge. 

The yo-yos are attached with Aleene's Tacky Glue, just like I did with the buttons and beads; but the bells are wired on.

The directions that came with my yo-yo maker were sparse, so I creatively learned some ways to NOT make yo-yos.  More about that next week.

Five Things To Do with Wrapping Paper

Last week I bought some wrapping paper because it was shiny and pretty.  I didn't need to wrap anything, but I did need to do something with it, now that I bought it.  I came up with seven ideas, but after implementing five of them, I was a little full and decided to stop.

So here's what I came up with...

I found this plexiglass "thing" in the bathroom department of HomeGoods.  The three tubes are stuck together, and the tallest one has a slit in it that I didn't notice until I got home.  A paper liner keeps my paint brushes from falling out. 

I was forever misplacing those markers and brushes, and now those days are over.  I'll just swap out the paper whenever I redecorate my sewing room, which seems to be almost perpetually.  It's the best of both worlds - a chance to make piggy piles and then clean them up.

I put some on the back of these buffet doors.  It was a little tricky getting the paper to lay tight and flat.  I had more luck when I used one long piece of painter's tape per side. 

Snowflakes from a dollar store are on the outside of the glass.

Fans.  I learned that in order to get a full circle, you need to start with a rectangle.

Covering a pot.  I put the saucer inside.  I could have used ribbon to tie it up, but I like the contrasting texture that the twine provides.

Cover a bulletin board.  You can see from my to-do list, that the other two ideas were to make book covers and line a shelf.  Maybe next year.